A screen in Ingress shows "exotic matter" a virtual blue-green fog that appears at specific locations around the world at certain times.

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Originally published on May 27, 2014 2:38 pm

Mobile phones and computer screens can distract us from engagement in the real world and that's been especially true of video games. But, there's an innovative game being played around the globe that's designed to use the same technologies to get its players more engaged with each other and the physical world.

While it's not unusual to see someone out in the open glancing down at a cell phone, on a recent Saturday afternoon as I walk into Republic Square Park in Austin, Texas, I see a cluster of about 100 people looking down at their phones.

I ask one of them what's going on. "It's an incursion event here," he says.

Frankly, he sounds insane. But, he's not. His name is Ramsey Oklah and he and the others gathered here are playing Ingress. The group is divided into warring factions and they are shooting virtual missiles at one another using an app on their phones. Both sides want control of this spot in the park.

Oklah says they can't fight it out from their homes. They have to meet up in real locations.

"I'm actually from Oklahoma" says Oklah. "I'm here for work right now." But Oklah says he flew in early just to meet up with friends to play the game.

Another player, Robbie Campbell, says he's met a lot of new people by playing Ingress.

"A lot of these people here today that I'm meeting I've been talking to for months," he says. "Being a global game, we have to interact with people not just locally but all over the place and it really brings people together."

Ingress has been downloaded 2 million times and is popular in the United States, Australia, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland, according to App Annie, which keeps track of downloads.

Here's the basic plot of Ingress: Something called "exotic matter," a virtual blue-green fog that can be seen on computers and mobile devices, started appearing at specific locations around the world at certain times. One side in the game, called the Resistance, believes this matter has been put here by a dark alien force. The other side, the Enlightened, thinks the substance holds the key to a bright human future.

The two sides fight it out in real locations across the globe.

Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Beaumont, Texas, says he's learned a lot about his community from the game.

"I'm from a relatively small town. I was born there. And I didn't know until I started playing this game that Thomas Edison actually came to Beaumont and turned on the first generator to power the first electric lights," he says. Campbell found out this history "at a museum that is a portal that I never knew existed before I played this game."

Campbell, who was once a couch potato video game addict, says he's actually lost weight tracking down sites while playing Ingress.

This is exactly what John Hanke was hoping would happen when he created Ingress. Hanke runs Niantic Labs, a startup inside Google. He is also one of the creators of Google Earth.

"We wanted to experiment with this idea that you could use technology and mobile apps to get people more deeply in touch with the real world instead of the opposite — instead of people tuning out the real world and focusing only on their technology," he says.

Ingress uses Google Plus and YouTube, where there's a regular faux newscast that reports on players' activities and events designed by the game creators as if they were real.

Players are also encouraged to upload their own videos. Among the most popular player videos was a call to arms for the resistance made by a group that included Lisa Compte. I spoke with her a bar in Austin where players were having a beer while they fought it out.

Compte says they specifically made their video because they wanted to be part of the story. "We kind of forced our way into the plot," she says.

Flint Dille, who leads the creative team for Ingress, remembers their video. "We view our players as like our collaborators," he says. "They're part of the team."

Dille, who has written for film, TV and video games, says Ingress is a totally new writing experience. "The story unfolds incrementally and daily; it's like news," he says. The writers for Ingress are constantly responding to actions taken by the players.

Sometimes characters in Ingress interact with the players during chats on Google and sometimes they appear in the real world at events, which may explain what happened to this reporter in Austin.

I interviewed one of the players and ask for her name.

"I'm team captain Badger Pants," she says.

I press her for her real name and she says "Rowan Badger." An odd name, but I accept it. Ten minutes later, Badger realizes that I'm not a character in the game but a real journalist.

"Since it's not in-game, my actual last name is Hagemann," she says "In-game I use Rowan Badger as my nickname."

Shakespeare famously wrote "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players." Ingress takes the great Bard's words to a new level.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

So, mobile phones and computer screens can distract us from engagement in the real world. That's been especially true when it comes to video games.

NPR's Laura Sydell reports on an innovative game that uses social networking and location technology to get players together in person.

LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE: It's not unusual to see someone out in the open glancing down at a cell phone. But on a recent Saturday afternoon, as I walk into Republic Square Park in Austin, there's a cluster of about 100 people looking down at their phones.

RAMSEY OKLAH: There's an incursion event here so we came...

SYDELL: Incursion event, what? This man sounds insane. But he's not. His name is Ramsey Oklah and he and the others gathered here to play a game together called Ingress. Two warring factions are standing here shooting virtual missiles at one another, using an app on their phones. Both sides want control of this spot in the park. And in order to win, the players need to meet up in a real location, says Oklah.

OKLAH: I'm actually from Oklahoma. I'm here for work right now. I flew in early.

SYDELL: You flew in early so you can play the game.

OKLAH: Yeah. Yeah.

SYDELL: Player Robbie Cable says he's met a lot of new friends. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In the audio of this story, as in a previous Web version, we incorrectly identify one game player as Robbie Cable. He is Robbie Campbell.]

ROBBIE CAMPBELL: A lot of these people here today that I'm meeting, I've been talking to for months. Being a global game, we have to interact with people not just locally but all over the place. And it really brings people together.

SYDELL: Here's the basic plot of Ingress: Something called exotic matter, a virtual blue-green fog that can be seen on computers and mobile devices, started appearing at specific locations around the world at certain times. One side in the game, called the Resistance, believes this matter has been put here by a dark alien force. The other side, the Enlightened, thinks the substance holds the key to a bright human future. The two sides fight it out in real locations across the globe.

Cable, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Beaumont, Texas, says he's learned a lot about his community from the game.

CAMPBELL: I'm from a relatively small town. I was born there. And I didn't know until I started playing this game that Thomas Edison actually came to Beaumont and turned on the first generator to power the first electric lights. Which I found out at a museum that is a portal that I never knew existed before I played this game.

SYDELL: Cable, who was once a couch potato playing video game addict, says he's actually lost weight tracking down sites while playing Ingress. This is exactly what John Hanke hoped would happen when he created Ingress.

JOHN HANKE: We wanted to experiment with this idea that you could use technology and mobile apps to actually pull people more deeply in touch with the real world instead of the opposite, instead of people tuning out the real world and focusing only on their technology.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This week on the Ingress Report, the Austin recursion anomaly brings with it a mysterious revelation...

SYDELL: And players are can upload their own videos.

(SOUNDBITE OF A VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And know that the resistance will continue to protect humanity from all threats, alien or otherwise.

SYDELL: One author of this video, Lisa Compte, is here at a bar in Austin where players are fighting to control a territory while having a beer. Compte says they wanted to become characters in the official game.

LISA COMPTE: We kind of forced our way into the plot. Like, that was...

(LAUGHTER)

COMPTE: That was how we started out was, OK, we want to be a part of this.

SYDELL: In fact, the game's writer wove Compte and her pals call to arms into the plot.

Flint Dille leads the creative team for Ingress. He's written for film, TV and video games. And he says Ingress is a totally new writing experience.

FLINT DILLE: The story unfolds incrementally and daily. It's like news.

SYDELL: At this point, there's no end date in sight for Ingress. It's been downloaded two million times all over the world. Dille says the players are not just an audience.

DILLE: We view our players as they're not customers. They're our collaborators. They're part of the team.

SYDELL: Though Ingress certainly gets us away from our computers, it's not clear if it's actually getting us any closer to reality. I interviewed one of the players and I ask for her name.

ROWAN BADGER: Hi, I'm team Captain Badger Pants.

SYDELL: Badger Pants, and what's your real name?

BADGER: Rowan Badger.

SYDELL: Sounded odd but OK. But then about 10 minutes later, she realized I was a real news reporter, not a character in the game.

BADGER: Since it's not in-game, my actual last name is Hagemann. In-game, I use Rowan Badger as my nickname.

SYDELL: Of course, Shakespeare famously wrote: All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players. Ingress takes the great bard's words to a new level.